Crystal Tears - Dowland, Ward, Byrd, Johnson, etc / Scholl, Behr, Concerto di Viole

• Album Summary
• Notes & Reviews
• Also Purchased
• Works Details

Album Summary

Performer

• Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)

Ensemble

• Concerto di Viole

Composers

• John Dowland (1563 - 1626)
• William Byrd (Composer) (1543 - 1623)
• Alfonso Ferrabosco (circa 1578 - 1628)
• John Ward (Ren. Composer) (1571 - 1638)
• John Bennet (Composer) (circa 1575-1580 - fl. 1599-1614)
• Anonymous
• Robert Johnson (Renaissance Composer 2) (circa 1583 - 1633)
• Patrick Mando
• Richard Mico (circa 1590 - 1661)

Notes & Reviews:

"As impressive as he is in such repertoire as the virtuoso arias of Vivaldi and Handel, it's in these lute and consort songs (and elsewhere in folksongs) that Andreas Scholl reveals the full depth and range of his voice and artistry. In these songs, the primacy of melody--and invariably lovely melody!--wants such a voice, silver-toned, limpid, liquid, flowing as easy as breath, to celebrate its own beauty, while a different kind of virtuosity is required to attend to and convey mood and meaning of the words... If you somehow haven't yet heard Andreas Scholl, don't hesitate to begin here; without doubt the rest of his recordings will soon find their way into your library. Scholl's existing fans will need no encouragement! Highly recommended." -Classics Today (10/10)

Gramophone Classical Music Guide
Inevitably, Andreas Scholl gets the headline treatment, though the man himself seems very much a team player. And though there are a few quibbles with his approach to this repertory, his interaction with Concerto di Viole and lutenist Julian Behr carries great conviction. The choice of Dowland songs holds few surprises. Although Scholl's technique is unimpeachable, his tone polished beyond doubt, there's a surprising diffidence.

Dowland's melancholy may have been a genuine personality trait but the Elizabethan penchant for this most intractable of humours was also (as Scholl acknowledges) a wider social phenomenon, a fashionable affectation; and from an artist of Scholl's accomplishment, a tauter balance between demure reserve and theatricality would have been welcome. Otherwise, one runs the risk of a one - dimensional Dowland, and Scholl doesn't entirely avoids it here.

That said, the first track, 'Go crystal tears', makes for a fine opening, and in 'Go nightly cares' the dialogue between voice and viols is very impressive. The whistling in the refrain of John Bennett's 'Venus' birds' seems the wrong sort of affectation, and the portamenti in the refrain of Byrd's 'Though Amaryllis dance in green' are likewise overdone.

The gems here are the pieces by lesser - known composers, in which Scholl's reserve is perhaps less of an issue: Robert Johnson's 'Have you seen the bright lily grow?' is particularly moving, and movingly conveyed, with something of the languor of the air de cour. Concerto di Viole's contributions are stylish, and Behr is both a sensitive accompanist and a distinguished soloist (in 'Semper Dowland semper dolens'). On a bonus DVD there's a short documentary that faithfully captures the atmosphere of a recording session, in which Scholl comes across as a down-to-earth, reflective and genuinely charming person.

Gramophone Magazine
Scholl's technique is unimpeachable, his tone polished beyond doubt...

BBC Music Magazine
There is some magical singing here, and Scholl is supported by instrumental playing of rare subtlety and real finesse.

The Observer
The exquisite melancholy pervading the disc, and its companion DVD, is the perfect balm to beguile you through a wistful summer evening

Reviews

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Also Purchased

Works Details

Dowland, John : Firste Booke of Songes

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 6 min. 29 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Form: Vocal
• Written: 1597

Ward, John : Fantasia a 6 for viols no 4 in G major

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 3 min. 30 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance

Dowland, John : Firste Booke of Songes

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 4 min. 32 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Written: by 1597

Dowland, John : A Pilgrimes Solace

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 4 min. 2 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Written: 1612

Ward, John : Fantasia

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 2 min. 55 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance

Dowland, John : Second Booke of Songes

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 3 min. 59 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Form: Vocal

Dowland, John : Lachrimae or Seaven Teares

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 3 min. 31 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Written: 1600

Dowland, John : Lady Rich, her Galliard, P 43

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 2 min. 3 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance

Johnson, Robert (II) : Have you seen but a white lily grow?

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 2 min. 51 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Written: 1616

Byrd, William : Psalmes, Sonets and Songs

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 3 min. 43 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Form: Choral
• Written: 1588

Bennet, John : Venus' Birds

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 3 min. 35 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance

Johnson, Robert (II) : Full fathom five

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 2 min. 10 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Written: 1611

Johnson, Robert (II) : Care charming sleep

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 3 min. 38 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Written: circa 1614

Mando, Patrick : Like as the day

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 4 min. 3 sec.

Dowland, John : Work(s) :: A Fancy

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 3 min. 29 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance

Dowland, John : Third and Last Booke of Songes

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 4 min. 39 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Form: Vocal
• Written: 1603

Ferrabosco (I), Alfonso : Four Notes Pavan

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 4 min. 49 sec.
• Period Time: Baroque

Dowland, John : A Pilgrimes Solace

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 4 min. 6 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Written: 1612

Anonymous : O Deathe, Rock Me A-Sleepe

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 2 min. 57 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance

Mico, Richard : Fantasia à 2, for bass viol & violin

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 3 min. 18 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance

Dowland, John : Firste Booke of Songes

• Performer: Andreas Scholl (Countertenor)
• Ensemble: Concerto di Viole
• Running Time: 5 min. 2 sec.
• Period Time: Renaissance
• Written: by 1597